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FROM TAVERN TALK TO PINTEREST PINS: THE HISTORY OF FOOD AND COMMUNITY IN AMERICA
BY MELANIE LÖFF-BIRD
In America, food preparation has been historically a communal experience in which families
exchanged information on food and cooking through spoken instruction or written cookbooks.
In recent times, food information in America is most often distributed through online resources
such as social media sites that have given individuals the ability to collect information about
food more freely and easily than ever before. These new methods of social interaction have
drastically affected the ways in which people learn about food. I argue that these social media
sites are far less productive and innovative than their food-sharing ancestors. In analyzing the
history of American foodways, I will demonstrate how social media sites have dramatically
transformed many Americans’ relationship to food and community.
TAVERNS AND EARLY AMERICAN FOODWAYS
In order to analyze the impact of social media on foodways today, it is important to first analyze
the history of American food consumption. This history begins with English settlers, who
flocked to the Americas in search of greater freedoms than those provided in their homelands.
Although eager to settle in America, many European colonizers did not embrace the unique
foodways of the New World. Instead, settlers “responded to the abundance of the New World by
doggedly recreating British cuisine,” explains food historian Mark McWilliams (365). American
devotion to British foodways and drinking traditions continued well into the founding of the
early Republic, as evidenced by the popularity of taverns in America, which had been a staple of
British cities for decades.
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As in Britain, taverns became a common feature in American daily life (Linnekin, “Tavern
Talk”). Colonists often went to tavern bars to share drinks with members in their community
and converse about an assortment of topics ranging from political debates to scandalous town
gossip (Linnekin, “Tavern Talk” 599). Taverns served a particularly important purpose during
and following the American Revolution, providing a space for settlers to hold informal meetings
where they would discuss common grievances or potential plans of action relating to the
Revolution (Linnekin, “Tavern Talk” 598). During these revolutionary years, taverns became
hubs for social activism where colonists shared passionate conversations about the fate of the
colonies and plotted ways to secure American freedoms from British rule. Taverns were also
communal places where horseback travelers and visiting seamen shared the latest news and
events from around the globe (Linnekin, “Tavern Talk” 601). Ultimately, taverns served as
“political spaces where citizens could participate in civic life” and form important inter- and
intra-colony connections (Brown 34).
COMMUNITY COOKBOOKS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Although taverns played an important role in spreading information to American settlers, soon
after the turn of the eighteenth century, printed pamphlets and texts were major resources that
inspired collective discussions about politics. Cookbooks were one of these texts, disseminating
information about food and other subjects. Collections of handwritten “receipts,” known today
as recipes, were printed into bound cookbooks that became “an integral part of the publishing
business in America” after 1860 (Longone 8). Although the turmoil of the Civil War profoundly
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decreased the demand for cookbooks and other printed materials, by the end of the war in 1865,
cookbooks enjoyed a surge in popularity and production. At this time, “community cookbooks”
displayed collections of personal recipes from members of small, regional communities. Many
of these community cookbooks were sold to raise money for specific communities and/or
particular philanthropic causes (Bower). In addition to displaying recipes, community
cookbooks included personal anecdotes, poems, and illustrations written by community members
that formed a rich historical snapshot of the communities that created them.
One of the first community recipe books was A Political Cookbook compiled by Maria J. Moss
in 1864. This cookbook was sold at the Philadelphia Sanitary Fair of 1865 to raise funds for
wounded Civil-War soldiers and their families (Cook 222). Although not necessarily a
“community cookbook” since Moss penned it alone, this text marked the beginning of the
community cookbook craze. By 1880, women’s groups across the country were regularly
compiling local recipes and selling them in the form of cookbooks to fundraise for charities
(Cook 222). Anne Bower, author of Cooking up Stories, asserts that the personal narratives
accompanying many community cookbooks demonstrated the “talents of women writing in a
variety of forms, finding the themes and language with which to convey the experience of living
in subcultures” (34). A number of cookbooks also revealed authors’ feelings of discontent, many
of whom were unsatisfied with performing expected housewife duties. It is no coincidence that
women expressed dissatisfaction with gender roles within cookbooks at the same time that the
women’s suffrage movement was gaining momentum in the U.S. In creating cookbooks, women
developed new networks of support and new platforms with which to voice their opinions on
women’s rights and roles in America (Longone 26).
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The 1887 Florence Cook Book compiled by the Ladies of the Mission Circle in Florence,
Massachusetts, is another community cookbook in which “the reader gains a stronger sense of
community of women with different voices” (Bower 34). This sense of community is
immediately apparent in this cookbook that lists the name of each contributor to the book in
conjunction with their written recipe. The Florence Cookbook also includes quotations by each
author, many of which are sassy, giving readers a real sense of the author’s personality and
opinions. With these personal additions, it is likely that readers felt as if they could relate to the
cookbook authors of the Florence Cook Book. Community cookbooks may have inspired such
personal attachment from readers that they produced a concept known today as “para-social
interaction”—a term first coined by Donald Horton and Richard Wohl in the 1950s to describe
when followers feel as if they “know” or have “met” an author or celebrity when they actually
have not (217-218). Although this concept is often applied to movie-star fanatics in modern pop
culture, I believe that “followers” of community cookbooks also experienced “para-social
interaction” with cookbook authors. Upon reading the authors’ personal narratives within
cookbooks, and engaging with the author’s recipes as part of a daily routine, it is likely that
many women readers developed strong bonds with cookbook authors. This intense attachment
between reader and author would have been in many ways productive in the late nineteenth
century, helping to foster a sense of community and togetherness between middle- and upperclass women in America.
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FOOD COMMUNITIES ON THE INTERNET IN THE TWENTIETH AND TWENTY-FIRST CENTURIES
The relationship between food and community today has dramatically transformed since the days
of tavern talks and community cookbooks. Many Americans now rely on cooking magazines,
cooking websites, and food blogs to gain a food education. These online resources are unique
products of the Web 2.0 phase, a term made famous by Darcy DiNucci in 1999 to distinguish the
modern, interactive online experience from the simple World Wide Web computer network of
the 1990s (DiNucci). Although the exact definition and starting point of the Web 2.0 phase is
widely disputed, Signe Rousseau, media studies professor and author of “Food and Social
Media,” summarizes that Web 2.0 is “characterized by linking information rather than machines,
and linking users through that shared information” (Rousseau 2). Many theorists about Web 2.0
argue that the Internet provides greater possibilities for collaboration and social interaction than
in the past.
These possibilities are evident in the community of followers inspired by the food magazine
Cooking Light. Cooking Light is a popular magazine that has generated a loyal base of
subscribers. Washington Post journalist Candy Sagon would agree, reporting in 2005 that
Cooking Light inspired an “enthusiastic, community of readers through the message boards on
the magazine’s website” (Sagon). Indeed, readers of Cooking Light post messages regularly on
the magazine’s website and have formed communities offline known as “supper clubs” that are
devoted to cooking and discussing the latest Cooking Light issue. The quick formation of such
communities is made possible by the easy usability of the Internet, which connects readers across
physical and geographic distances. The online world in this sense is truly a fluid space for
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people all over the world to share information about food. Though reaching a more global
audience than earlier community cookbooks, cooking magazines and websites have inspired a
similar sense of community.
Food blogs have also fostered communities of food lovers. According to a statistic from 2007,
the United States has a total of 50,000 food blogs (Sylva). This statistic has only increased.
These sites are run by bloggers whose personal backgrounds, culinary training, and writing style
add a unique element to each blog. The integration of personal narratives, pictures, and videos in
food blogs resonate with earlier community cookbooks that included personal quotations and
stories from the authors. Similar to these historical cookbooks, food blogs inspire “para-social
interactions” that I suspect were similar to the relations cultivated between cookbook readers and
authors in earlier time periods.
PASSIVE ENGAGEMENT AND FOOD “SLACKTIVISM” ON THE INTERNET
Although food blogs and websites may encourage a sense of community among readers and
authors, these same sites can lead to “Slacktivism”—a term that combines the words “slacker”
and “activism” to describe “the act of passively supporting causes [via social media sites] in
order to tap into the satisfaction that accompanies philanthropy, without having to do any heavylifting (or heavy spending)” (Davis). I believe that many readers of websites and blogs relating
to food engage in slacktivism since they are passively learning information about food from
these sites without contributing original content to these spaces. To truly benefit from the
knowledge provided by food blogs and websites, I assert that followers must sacrifice something
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in order to fully engage with the blog. I thus agree with New Yorker journalist Malcolm
Gladwell who argues that social media allows only for participation, not for sacrifice, an integral
component of “real” activism (Gladwell).
Slacktivism is prevalent on Twitter and Facebook as well. These sites are characterized by a
continuous “stream” of content pulled from a selection of online sources chosen by the user.
This model of streaming information has inspired food bloggers to move away from the slowpaced blogs characterized by daily or weekly updates to a more rapid aggregate model that
streams information about food much faster. Unfortunately, in quickening the distribution of
food knowledge, I argue that the level of active user engagement on these sites has decreased. I
believe that users on sites such as Pinterest, FoodPornDaily, and Foodgawker have become less
interested in reading or contributing content about food on the Internet as they are more
interested in looking at images of food. The decrease in user contributions to websites is evident
in a recent 2012 study conducted by the Hartman Group that found 60% of online consumers
claim to read social networking sites weekly compared to 47% who claim to contribute original
content weekly (Beker).
The website Pinterest is a particularly interesting example. Pinterest is a photo-sharing, image
collection website whose goal since its inception in 2010 has been “to connect everyone in the
world through the 'things' they find interesting” (Pinterest.com). The website states, “With
millions of new pins added every week, Pinterest is connecting people all over the world based
on shared tastes and interests” (Pinterest.com). Pinterest fulfills this mission by allowing users to
pull content from their personalized content streams and organize this content into folders known
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as “boards” that they display on the user’s public homepage. While scrolling through a generic
content stream on Pinterest, it is clear that the type of food knowledge being distributed on this
website is primarily “food porn,” or stylized pictures of high calorie foods from outside food
blogs. The food porn on Pinterest essentially serves as advertisements for external food blogs
that Pinterest readers can scan without actively connecting to these external sites. Pinterest, in
this way, encourages a passive community of readers who view images of food on Pinterest
without actively pursuing information about the preparation, production, and makers of these
foods and images.
FEASTLY: A NEW MODEL OF INTERNET INTERACTION
A number of food websites, however, are resisting the passive formats of Pinterest and
attempting to create a more active audience interested in food appreciation and participation.
One such site is Feastly, “an online marketplace connecting passionate cooks with hungry eaters
to offer homemade meals prepared and served in a cook’s home” (Feastly.com). Co-founder
Danny Harris started Feastly after living in Spain and meeting a resident of Madrid who agreed
to prepare an authentic Spanish meal for Harris and his wife since they had grown tired of eating
“faux” Spanish food at touristy restaurants (Harris). After eating this meal, Harris wanted to find
a way to give people in America the same opportunity to savor the simple comforts of a
lovingly-prepared and “authentic” meal. Harris consequently founded Feastly, a website that
organizes meals for parties of strangers.
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Over a dozen Feastly meals have been organized in the past year. One happy “Feaster” praised
the website, saying, “although the idea of eating a meal with people you don’t know at a
stranger’s house may seem off-putting, what I experienced that evening was more akin to sharing
the company of close family while enjoying one of the best home-cooked meals I’ve had in quite
some time” (Pierre). Feastly, in this sense, is a website for active users who are eager to share
their love of food with an understanding and appreciative community. Feastly users stand in
contrast to many passive web readers who spend hours online looking at images of delicious
dishes without ever attempting to cook, eat, or learn about the food. Such “spectators” prefer to
savor and appreciate the rewards of consuming a meal without sacrificing the time, energy, and
resources required to cook a meal. The cooks of the Feastly community, however, make these
sacrifices to benefit others and share in the feelings of goodwill that come as a result of cooking
for members of the community. In my perspective, Feastly is an inspiring social media model
that inspires more active participation among web users interested in food.
CONCLUSION
In sum, the manner in which today’s consumers are creating, sharing, and engaging with food
knowledge on the Internet is in some ways a great departure from historic American foodways.
This shift is unfortunate, in my perspective, since the production and distribution of food in early
America used to inspire more productive and interactive communities in the form of taverns and
cookbooks. Although some social media sites such as Feastly inspire the spirit of earlier
foodways, many modern technologies that have replaced traditional food resources have enabled
more passive interactions with food. Food in the age of social media will continue to battle this
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conflict, but I hope that Americans will continue to invent new ways to create the communal
food experience with the aid of social media.
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